Exhibit [4.1]



DESCRIPTION OF REGISTRANT’S SECURITIES

REGISTERED PURSUANT TO SECTION 12 OF

THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

The following is a brief description of the securities of
Firsthand Technology Value Fund, Inc. (the “company” “we,” “us,” “our” and “SVVC”),
registered pursuant to Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). This description
of the terms of our capital stock does not purport to be complete and is subject to and qualified in its entirety by reference
to the applicable provisions of Maryland General Corporation Law, and the full text of our charter and bylaws. As of December 31,
2019 and the date hereof, our common stock is the only class of our securities registered under Section 12 of the Exchange Act.



CAPITAL STOCK



Our authorized capital stock consists of 100,000,000 shares of stock,
par value $0.001 per share, all of which is designated as common stock. Our common stock is listed on the NASDAQ Stock Market under
the ticker symbol “SVVC”. There are no outstanding options or warrants to purchase our stock. No stock has been authorized
for issuance under any equity compensation plans. Under Maryland law, our stockholders generally are not personally liable for
our debts or obligations.



Under our charter, our board of directors is authorized to classify
and reclassify any unissued shares of stock into other classes or series of stock and authorize the issuance of shares of stock
without obtaining stockholder approval. As permitted by the Maryland General Corporation Law, our charter provides that a majority
of the board of directors, without any action by our stockholders, may amend the charter from time to time to increase or decrease
the aggregate number of shares of stock or the number of shares of stock of any class or series that we have authority to issue.



Common stock



All shares of our common stock have equal rights as to earnings,
assets, distributions, and voting and, when they are issued, will be duly authorized, validly issued, fully paid, and non-assessable.
Distributions may be paid to the holders of our common stock if, as, and when authorized by our board of directors and declared
by us out of funds legally available therefor. Shares of our common stock have no preemptive, exchange, conversion, or redemption
rights and are freely transferable, except where their transfer is restricted by federal and state securities laws or by contract.
In the event of our liquidation, dissolution or winding up, each share of our common stock would be entitled to share ratably in
all of our assets that are legally available for distribution after we pay all debts and other liabilities and subject to any preferential
rights of holders of our preferred stock, if any preferred stock is outstanding at such time. Subject to the exclusive voting rights
of any other class or series of stock, if any are issued, each share of our common stock is entitled to one vote on all matters
submitted to a vote of stockholders, including the election of directors. Except as provided with respect to any other class or
series of stock, if any, the holders of our common stock will possess exclusive voting power. There is no cumulative voting in
the election of directors, which means that holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of common stock can elect all of our
directors.



The provisions of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended
(the “1940 Act”), generally require that the public offering price of common stock of a business development company
(less underwriting commissions and discounts) must equal or exceed the net asset value of such company's common stock (calculated
within 48 hours of pricing), unless such sale is made with the consent of a majority of the company's outstanding common stockholders.
Any sale of common stock by us will be subject to the requirements of the 1940 Act.











Preferred stock



Our charter authorizes our board of directors to classify and reclassify
any unissued shares of stock into one or more classes or series of stock, including preferred stock, without the approval of the
holders of our common stock. Holders of common stock have no preemptive right to purchase any preferred stock that may be issued.



Prior to issuance of shares of each class or series, the board of
directors is required by Maryland law and by our charter to set the terms, preferences, conversion or other rights, voting powers,
restrictions, limitations as to distributions, qualifications, and terms or conditions of redemption for each class or series.
Thus, the board of directors could authorize the issuance of shares of preferred stock with terms and conditions that could have
the effect of delaying, deferring, or preventing a transaction or a change in control that might involve a premium price for holders
of our common stock or otherwise be in their best interests. You should note, however, that any issuance of preferred stock must
comply with the requirements of the 1940 Act.



LIMITATION ON LIABILITY OF DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS; INDEMNIFICATION
AND ADVANCE OF EXPENSES



Maryland law permits a Maryland corporation to include in its charter
a provision limiting the liability of its directors and officers to the corporation and its stockholders for money damages except
for liability resulting from (1) actual receipt of an improper benefit or profit in money, property or services or (2) active
and deliberate dishonesty established by a final judgment as being material to the cause of action. Our charter contains such a
provision which eliminates directors’ and officers’ liability to the maximum extent permitted by Maryland law, subject
to the requirements of the 1940 Act.



Our charter authorizes us and our bylaws obligate us, to the maximum
extent permitted by Maryland law and subject to the requirements of the 1940 Act, to indemnify any present or former director or
officer or any individual who, while a director or officer and at our request, serves or has served another corporation, real estate
investment trust, limited liability company, partnership, joint venture, trust, employee benefit plan or other enterprise as a
director, officer, partner, member, manager, or trustee, and who is made, or threatened to be made, a party to the proceeding by
reason of his or her service in that capacity, from and against any claim or liability to which that individual may become subject
or which that individual may incur by reason of his or her service in such capacity and to pay or reimburse their reasonable expenses
in advance of final disposition of a proceeding without requiring a preliminary determination of the director’s or officer’s
ultimate entitlement to indemnification. The charter and bylaws also permit us to indemnify and advance expenses to any individual
who served a predecessor of us in any of the capacities described above and any of our employees or agents or any employees or
agents of our predecessor. In accordance with the 1940 Act, we will not indemnify any person for any liability to which such person
would be subject by reason of such person’s willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence, or reckless disregard of the
duties involved in the conduct of his or her office.



Maryland law requires a corporation (unless its charter provides
otherwise, which our charter does not) to indemnify a director or officer who has been successful, on the merits or otherwise,
in the defense of any proceeding to which he or she is made, or threatened to be made, a party by reason of his or her service
in that capacity. Maryland law permits a corporation to indemnify its present and former directors and officers, among others,
against judgments, penalties, fines, settlements, and reasonable expenses actually incurred by them in connection with any proceeding
to which they may be made, or are threatened to be made, a party by reason of their service in those or other capacities unless
it is established that (1) the act or omission of the director or officer was material to the matter giving rise to the proceeding
and (a) was committed in bad faith or (b) was the result of active and deliberate dishonesty, (2) the director or
officer actually received an improper personal benefit in money, property or services or (3) in the case of any criminal proceeding,
the director or officer had reasonable cause to believe that the act or omission was unlawful. However, under Maryland law, a Maryland
corporation may not indemnify for an adverse judgment in a suit by or in the right of the corporation or for a judgment of liability
on the basis that a personal benefit was improperly received, unless in either case a court orders indemnification, and then only
for expenses. In addition, Maryland law permits a corporation to pay or reimburse reasonable expenses to a director or officer
in advance of the final disposition of a proceeding upon the corporation’s receipt of (1) a written affirmation by the
director or officer of his or her good faith belief that he or she has met the standard of conduct necessary for indemnification
by the corporation and (2) a written undertaking by him or her or on his or her behalf to repay the amount paid or reimbursed
by the corporation if it is ultimately determined that the standard of conduct was not met.





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PROVISIONS OF THE MARYLAND GENERAL CORPORATION LAW AND OUR CHARTER
AND BYLAWS



The Maryland General Corporation Law and our charter and bylaws
contain provisions that could make it more difficult for a potential acquiror to acquire us by means of a tender offer, proxy contest,
or otherwise. These provisions are expected to discourage certain coercive takeover practices and inadequate takeover bids and
to encourage persons seeking to acquire control of us to negotiate first with our board of directors. We believe that the benefits
of these provisions outweigh the potential disadvantages of discouraging any such acquisition proposals because, among other things,
the negotiation of such proposals may improve their terms.



Classified board of directors



Our board of directors is divided into three classes of directors
serving staggered three-year terms. The current terms of the first, second and third classes will expire at the annual meeting
of stockholders in 2021, 2022, and 2020, respectively, and when their successors are duly elected and qualify. Upon expiration
of their current terms, directors of each class will be elected to serve until the third annual meeting following their election
and until their respective successors are duly elected and qualify and each year one class of directors will be elected by the
stockholders. A classified board may render a change in control of us or removal of our incumbent management more difficult. We
believe, however, that the longer time required to elect a majority of a classified board of directors will help to ensure the
continuity and stability of our management and policies.



Election of directors



Our bylaws provide that (subject to the rights of holders of our
preferred stock, if any) directors are elected by a majority of the votes entitled to be cast in contested elections and by a plurality
of the votes cast in uncontested elections.



Number of directors; vacancies; removal



Our charter provides that the number of directors will be set only
by the board of directors in accordance with our bylaws. Our bylaws provide that a majority of our entire board of directors may
at any time increase or decrease the number of directors. However, the number of directors may never be less than the minimum
number required by the Maryland General Corporation Law, which is one, nor more than fifteen, unless our bylaws are amended. We
have elected in our charter to be subject to the provision of Subtitle 8 of Title 3 of the Maryland General Corporation Law regarding
the filling of vacancies on the board of directors. Accordingly, except as may be provided by the board of directors in setting
the terms of any class or series of preferred stock, any and all vacancies on the board of directors may be filled only by the
affirmative vote of a majority of the remaining directors in office, even if the remaining directors do not constitute a quorum,
and any director elected to fill a vacancy will serve for the remainder of the full term of the directorship in which the vacancy
occurred and until a successor is elected and qualifies, subject to any applicable requirements of the 1940 Act.





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Our charter provides that (subject to any rights which may be granted
to holders of one or more classes of preferred stock) a director may be removed only for cause, as defined in our charter, and
then only by the affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of the votes entitled to be cast in the election of directors.



Action by stockholders



Under the Maryland General Corporation Law, stockholder action can
be taken only at an annual or special meeting of stockholders or, unless the charter provides for a lesser percentage (which our
charter does not for common stock) by unanimous written consent in lieu of a meeting. These provisions, combined with the requirements
of our bylaws regarding the calling of a stockholder-requested special meeting of stockholders discussed below, may have the effect
of delaying consideration of a stockholder proposal until the next annual meeting of stockholders.



Advance notice provisions for stockholder nominations and stockholder
proposals



Our bylaws provide that with respect to an annual meeting of stockholders,
nominations of individuals for election to the board of directors and the proposal of business to be considered by stockholders
may be made only (1) pursuant to our notice of the meeting, (2) by or at the direction of the board of directors, or
(3) by a stockholder who was a stockholder of record at the record date set by the board for purposes of determining stockholders
entitled to vote at the meeting, at the time of giving of notice by the stockholder and at the time of the annual meeting, who
is entitled to vote at the meeting and who has complied with the advance notice procedures of the bylaws. With respect to special
meetings of stockholders, only the business specified in our notice of the meeting may be brought before the meeting. Nominations
of individuals for election to the board of directors at a special meeting may be made only (1) by, or at the direction of, the
board of directors, or (2) provided that the special meeting has been duly called for the purpose of electing directors, by
a stockholder who is a stockholder of record at the record date set by the board for purposes of determining stockholders entitled
to vote at the meeting, at the time of giving of notice and at the time of the special meeting, who is entitled to vote at the
meeting and who has complied with the advance notice provisions of the bylaws.



The purpose of requiring stockholders to give us advance notice
of nominations and other business is to afford our board of directors a meaningful opportunity to consider the qualifications of
the proposed nominees and the advisability of any other proposed business and, to the extent deemed necessary or desirable by our
board of directors, to inform stockholders and make recommendations about such qualifications or business, as well as to provide
a more orderly procedure for conducting meetings of stockholders. Although our bylaws do not give our board of directors any power
to disapprove stockholder nominations for the election of directors or proposals recommending certain action, they may have the
effect of precluding a contest for the election of directors or the consideration of stockholder proposals if proper procedures
are not followed and of discouraging or deterring a third party from conducting a solicitation of proxies to elect its own slate
of directors or to approve its own proposal without regard to whether consideration of such nominees or proposals might be harmful
or beneficial to us and our stockholders.





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Calling of special meetings of stockholders



Our bylaws provide that special meetings of stockholders may be
called by our board of directors, the chairman of our board or our president. Additionally, our bylaws provide that, subject to
the satisfaction of certain procedural and informational requirements by the stockholders requesting the meeting, a special meeting
of stockholders will be called by the secretary of the corporation upon the written request of stockholders entitled to cast not
less than a majority of all the votes entitled to be cast at such meeting.



Approval of extraordinary corporate action; amendment of charter
and bylaws



Under Maryland law, a Maryland corporation generally cannot dissolve,
amend its charter, merge, convert, sell all or substantially all of its assets, engage in a share exchange, or engage in similar
transactions outside the ordinary course of business, unless approved by the affirmative vote of stockholders entitled to be cast
at least two-thirds of the votes entitled to be cast on the matter. However, a Maryland corporation may provide in its charter
for approval of these matters by a lesser percentage, but not less than a majority of all of the votes entitled to be cast on the
matter. Our charter generally provides for approval of charter amendments and extraordinary transactions by the stockholders entitled
to cast at least a majority of the votes entitled to be cast on the matter. Our charter also provides that (1) our liquidation
or dissolution or any amendment to our charter to effect such liquidation or dissolution; (2) any merger, consolidation, share
exchange, or sale or exchange of all or substantially all of our assets that requires the approval of our stockholders under the
Maryland General Corporation Law; (3) certain transactions between us and any person or group of persons acting together and any
person controlling, controlled by or under common control with any such person or member of such group, that may exercise or direct
the exercise of 10% or more of our voting power in the election of directors; (4) any amendment to our charter that would make
our common stock a redeemable security, or convert us, whether by merger or otherwise, from a closed-end company to an open-end
company; and (5) any amendment to certain provisions of our charter, including the provisions relating to our purpose, the number,
qualifications, classification, removal of directors and the vote required to amend any of items (1) through (5), requires the
approval of the stockholders entitled to cast at least 80% of the votes entitled to be cast on such matter. The requirement for
an 80% vote is a greater percentage than required by the 1940 Act and Maryland law. The effect is to make it harder for stockholders
to implement these changes. However, if such a proposal is approved by at least two-thirds of our Continuing Directors (defined
below), in addition to approval by the full Board, such proposal may be approved by the stockholders entitled to cast a majority
of the votes entitled to be cast on such matter or, in the case of transactions with a group described above in (3), by the vote,
if any, of the stockholders required by applicable law or by our charter or bylaws. The “Continuing Directors” are
defined in our charter as (a) our current Directors (b) those Directors whose nomination for election by the stockholders or whose
election by the Directors to fill vacancies is approved by a majority of our current Directors who are then on the Board, and (c)
any successor directors whose nomination for election by the stockholders or whose election by the directors to fill vacancies
is approved by a majority of the Continuing Directors then in office. These provisions could make it more difficult for certain
extraordinary transactions to be approved if they are opposed by the Continuing Directors, and discourage proxy contests for control
of our Board by persons wishing to cause such transactions to take place.



Our charter and bylaws provide that the board of directors will
have the exclusive power to adopt, alter, or repeal any provision of our bylaws and to make new bylaws.



No appraisal rights



As permitted by the Maryland General Corporation Law, our charter
provides that stockholders will not be entitled to exercise appraisal rights.





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Control share acquisitions



The Maryland Control Share Acquisition Act provides that a holder
of control shares of a Maryland corporation acquired in a control share acquisition has no voting rights with respect to those
shares except to the extent approved by a vote of two-thirds of the votes entitled to be cast on the matter. Shares owned by the
acquiror, by officers, or by directors who are employees of the corporation are excluded from shares entitled to vote on the matter.
Control shares are voting shares of stock which, if aggregated with all other shares of stock owned by the acquiror or in respect
of which the acquiror is able to exercise or direct the exercise of voting power (except solely by virtue of a revocable proxy),
would entitle the acquiror to exercise voting power in electing directors within one of the following ranges of voting power:



|• | one-tenth or more but less than one-third,
|- | ------------------------------------------



|• | one-third or more but less than a majority, or
|- | ----------------------------------------------



|• | a majority or more of all voting power.
|- | ---------------------------------------



The requisite stockholder approval must be obtained each time an
acquiror crosses one of the thresholds of voting power set forth above. Control shares do not include shares the acquiring person
is then entitled to vote as a result of having previously obtained stockholder approval. A control share acquisition generally
means the acquisition of issued and outstanding control shares, subject to certain exceptions.



A person who has made or proposes to make a control share acquisition
may compel the board of directors of the corporation to call a special meeting of stockholders to be held within 50 days of demand
to consider the voting rights of the shares. The right to compel the calling of a special meeting is subject to the satisfaction
of certain conditions, including an undertaking to pay the expenses of the meeting. If no request for a meeting is made, the corporation
may itself present the question at any stockholders meeting.



If voting rights are not approved at the meeting or if the acquiring
person does not deliver an acquiring person statement as required by the statute, then the corporation may repurchase for fair
value any or all of the control shares, except those for which voting rights have previously been approved. The right of the corporation
to repurchase control shares is subject to certain conditions and limitations, including, as provided in our bylaws, compliance
with the 1940 Act. Fair value is determined, without regard to the absence of voting rights for the control shares, as of the date
of the last control share acquisition by the acquiror or of any meeting of stockholders at which the voting rights of the shares
are considered and not approved. If voting rights for control shares are approved at a stockholders meeting and the acquiror becomes
entitled to vote a majority of the shares entitled to vote, all other stockholders may exercise appraisal rights. The fair value
of the shares as determined for purposes of appraisal rights may not be less than the highest price per share paid by the acquiror
in the control share acquisition.



The Control Share Acquisition Act does not apply (1) to shares
acquired in a merger, consolidation or share exchange if the corporation is a party to the transaction or (2) to acquisitions
approved or exempted by the charter or bylaws of the corporation.



Our bylaws contain a provision exempting from the Maryland Control
Share Acquisition Act any and all acquisitions by any person of our shares of stock. There can be no assurance that such provision
will not be amended or eliminated at any time in the future. However, we will amend our bylaws to be subject to the Maryland Control
Share Acquisition Act only if (i) the board of directors determines that it would be in our best interests based, in part, on our
determination that our being subject to the Maryland Control Share Acquisition Act does not conflict with the 1940 Act; and (ii)
the SEC staff does not object to our determination that our being subject to the Maryland Control Share Acquisition Act does not
conflict with the 1940 Act.





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Business combinations



Under Maryland law, “business combinations” between
a Maryland corporation and an interested stockholder or an affiliate of an interested stockholder are prohibited for five years
after the most recent date on which the interested stockholder becomes an interested stockholder. These business combinations include
a merger, consolidation, share exchange, or, in circumstances specified in the statute, an asset transfer or issuance or reclassification
of equity securities. An interested stockholder is defined as:



|• | any person who beneficially owns 10% or more of the voting power of the corporation’s shares; or
|- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



|• | an affiliate or associate of the corporation who, at any time within the two-year period prior to the date in question, was the beneficial owner of 10% or more of the voting power of the then outstanding voting stock of the corporation.
|- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



A person is not an interested stockholder under this statute if
the board of directors approved in advance the transaction by which the person otherwise would have become an interested stockholder.
However, in approving a transaction, the board of directors may provide that its approval is subject to compliance, at or after
the time of approval, with any terms and conditions determined by the board.



After the five-year prohibition, any business combination between
the corporation and an interested stockholder generally must be recommended by the board of directors of the corporation and approved
by the affirmative vote of at least:



|• | 80% of the votes entitled to be cast by holders of outstanding shares of voting stock of the corporation, and
|- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



|• | two-thirds of the votes entitled to be cast by holders of voting stock of the corporation other than shares held by the interested stockholder with whom or with whose affiliate the business combination is to be effected or held by an affiliate or associate of the interested stockholder.
|- | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



These super-majority vote requirements do not apply if the corporation’s
common stockholders receive a minimum price, as defined under Maryland law, for their shares in the form of cash or other consideration
in the same form as previously paid by the interested stockholder for its shares.



The statute permits various exemptions from its provisions, including
business combinations that are exempted by the board of directors before the time that the interested stockholder becomes an interested
stockholder. Our board of directors has adopted a resolution that any business combination between us and any other person is exempted
from the provisions of the Maryland Business Combination Act, provided that the business combination is first approved by our board
of directors, including a majority of the directors who are not interested persons as defined in the 1940 Act. This resolution,
however, may be altered or repealed in whole or in part at any time. If this resolution is repealed, or the board of directors
does not otherwise approve a business combination, the statute may discourage others from trying to acquire control of us and increase
the difficulty of consummating any offer.





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Exclusive Forum



Our bylaws provide that, unless we consent in writing to the selection
of an alternative forum, the Circuit Court for Baltimore City, Maryland, or, if that court does not have jurisdiction, the United
States District Court for the District of Maryland, Northern Division, will be the sole and absolute forum for (a) any Internal
Corporate Claim, as such term is defined in Section 1-101(p) of the MGCL, (b) any derivative action or proceeding brought on our
behalf other than actions arising under the federal securities laws, (c) any action asserting a claim of breach of any duty owed
by any of our directors, officers or other employees to us or to our stockholders, (d) any action asserting a claim against us
or any of our directors, officers or other employees arising pursuant to any provision of the MGCL or our charter or bylaws or
(e) any action asserting a claim against us or any of our directors, officers or other employees that is governed by the internal
affairs doctrine and no such action may be brought in any court sitting out of the State of Maryland unless we consent in writing
to such court.



Conflict with 1940 Act



Our bylaws provide that, if and to the extent that any provision
of the Maryland General Corporation Law, including the Maryland Control Share Acquisition Act (if we amend our bylaws to be subject
to such Act) and the Maryland Business Combination Act, or any provision of our charter or bylaws conflicts with any provision
of the 1940 Act, the applicable provision of the 1940 Act will control.



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